Collared into eating collards
“I don’t know about this,” my husband said as he watched me stir the greens. “I’m just not sure I could eat those.”
I slow-cooked a large ham hock in my crockpot overnight and separated the fat and bones from the meat. Into the broth, I dumped a two-pound bag of collard greens that I rinsed and drained. Then I added a little more water, a bouillon cube or two, and let the slow cooker do its work.
This was only my second time cooking greens. The first time, I added a quart jar of horticulture beans near the end. Their starchy liquid thickened up the greens and gave them a silky, smooth broth.
This time, I tried a different finisher. I added a cup or so of uncooked Acini de Pepe pasta, which produced a similar result.
I have been on a healthy cooking kick for about a month.
When my husband discovered his blood sugar was consistently staying above the recommended levels – and he noticed it was beginning to really affect his eyesight – we made some changes to our diet.
I removed the yolks from our egg sandwiches. I quit buttering toast. I removed the salt shaker from the table. I add mushrooms to nearly everything.
We cut portions back to reasonable (tiny) size. We eat six small meals a day instead of three larger ones.
Homemade goodies are at least 50 percent whole wheat flour and use 50 percent less sugar. It was drastic, it was immediate and it was effective.
Within two to three weeks, his blood-sugar levels were back where they need to be. We both feel far less sluggish and each dropped several pounds.
And I am getting to try cooking new foods he would have refused to sample before.
One of his new favorites is a roasted root vegetable medley. Yams or sweet potatoes, turnips, carrots and one or two regular potatoes get cubed up in similarly sized pieces. I coat them in a little olive oil and add a small measure of grill seasoning or salt-free herb blend. Then I put them in a 450-degree oven for about 30 minutes, flipping them once or twice along the way.
Last week, I boiled and mashed a similar concoction, which he momentarily balked at due to the bright orange color. After a bite or two, he was on board, even helping himself to a second spoonful from the pan.
I reminded him of those culinary victories as I dished up a small portion of the collards. “A month ago, you would have said that,” I reminded him, “but now you enjoy all foods.”
He tentatively took a bite. “They are OK,” he said after a moment’s pause. “I don’t think I could live on them, but they aren’t bad.” He scooped a second bite into his mouth before adding, “I still prefer the yam medley.”
All things considered, I’ll count that as a victory.
Laura Zoeller can be reached by zoeller5@verizon.net.